Correlation between Ultrasonographic Grading of Fatty Liver and Lipid Profile

Fatty liver disease can easily cause  detrimental  changes when it slolwly  progressess towards the aggressive stages of  liver fibrosis leading to cirrhosis, and it can also cause collateral damages in the form of   cardiovascular diseases and atherosclerotic disease. The main  purpose of this study is to analyze the correlation between the grading of fatty liver disease provided by the ultrasound with lipid profile work of the affected patient.  A comparative analytical study  was conducted on 138 patients affected with fatty liver disease,the patients were chosen by  convenient sampling technique. Study was conducted at Radiology Department of General Hospital Lahore and Sheikh Zayed Hospital Rahimyar khan during July 2019 to October 2019. Total 138 patients data were analyzed. Out of 138 males were 65 (47.1%) males and females were 73 (52.9%) w.The study indicated  that the total number of patients having grade 1 fatty liver was 84 (60.9%), patients having grade 2 fatty liver was 52 (37.7%) and patients having grade 3 fatty liver was 2 (1.4%). Out of 138 patients there were total  67 (48.6%)cases of patients with fatty liver disease and  out of 138 patients, 71 (51.4%) were considered normal .Female patients were allegedly found to be more effected with fatty liver than males and majority of patients fell into the category of grade1 fatty liver. Since the majority of the patient fell into the category of grade 1 of fatty liver disese and there lipid profile test also indicated towards normal values so the risk of developing any cardiovascular disease among the patients was mininal

Adsorption-Based Atmospheric Water Harvesting: Technology Fundamentals and Energy-Efficient Adsorbents

Nowadays, atmospheric water harvesting (AWH) became very essential to provide fresh potable water. This technique is in practice since 1900 (US661944A) by Edger S. Belden. Atmospheric water is a source of freshwater with 13000 trillion liters availability of water at any time and can be utilized in overcoming water shortage, especially in arid and rural areas. It holds up the water molecules in the form of vapors and accounts for adding 10% of all freshwater present on the earth. Mainly, the two most common methods have been used for the extraction of atmospheric water. First, the ambient air is cooled below the dew point temperature, and second in which the moisture in atmospheric air is adsorbed/absorbed using desiccant materials. Conventional vapor compression, thermoelectric cooling, dew, and fog water harvesting based systems/technologies possess some limits in terms of energy requirements, less efficiency, and high cost. However, the adsorption based AWH technology is relatively cheaper, environment friendly, and can be operated by a low-grade thermal energy source. The limited availability of commercial instruments to harvest atmospheric water using adsorbents indicates a lack of fundamental studies. The fundamental research on water adsorption, adsorption kinetics, regeneration conditions, and water collecting surface designs has not gained as much interest as required in the field of atmospheric water harvesting. In this regard, this book chapter discusses and presents the progress in the field of adsorbent materials and system designs along with the future directions to accelerate the commercialization of this technology

Battery charger load-following controller for over-voltage and under-voltage conditions

Battery charging systems are integral to the efficient operation and economic benefit of various applications, from electric vehicles to renewable energy storage. However, maintaining battery charging according to specifications during voltage variations, including short or prolonged under-voltage and over-voltage conditions, presents a significant challenge. These voltage variations can impact the thermal safety and charging time of batteries, potentially affecting their overall performance and life span. In order to address these challenges, this paper proposes a smart charging control method designed to control both the battery charging voltage and load voltages. This method is equipped to handle utility interruptions by using regulated AC–DC converters, while an automatic interconnected DC regulator controls the battery state of charge (SOC) and load supply. This dual control mechanism ensures efficient performance under various conditions. Extensive simulations validate the effectiveness of the proposed method, demonstrating its ability to maintain a constant voltage supplied to the load and ensures the thermal safety of the system during under- and over-voltage conditions. Additionally, an analysis of the thermal effect of the charger under these voltage conditions provides valuable insights into the thermal performance of the system, which is a critical aspect of battery charging systems. The proposed charging control method offers a comprehensive solution for efficient battery charging under various voltage conditions, thus contributing to the better performance, thermal safety, and longevity of batteries

A review of recent advances in adsorption desalination technologies

Adsorption-based desalination (AD) is an emerging concept to co-generate distilled fresh water and cooling applications. The present study is aimed to provide a comprehensive review of the adsorption desalination systems and subsequent hybridization with known conventional cycles such as the multiple-effect AD (MED), solar regenerable, integrated evaporator-condenser cascaded, and ejector integrated systems. The systems are investigated for energy consumption, productivity enhancement, and performance parameters, including production cost, daily water production, and performance coefficient. Comprehensive economic aspects, future challenges, and future progress of the technologies are discussed accordingly to pave researchers' paths for technological innovation. Traditional AD systems can produce specific daily water production of 25 kg per kg of adsorbent. The solar adsorption desalination-cooling (ADC) showed a promising specific cooling power of 112 W/kg along with a COP of 0.45. Furthermore, for a hybrid MEDAD cycle, the gain output ratio (GOR) and performance ratio (PR) is found to be 40%, along with an augmented water production rate from 60% to two folds. The AD technology could manage the high salinity feed water with the production of low salinity water with a reasonable cost of US$0.2/m3

Dynamic Evaluation of Desiccant Dehumidification Evaporative Cooling Options for Greenhouse Air-Conditioning Application in Multan (Pakistan)

This study provides insights into the feasibility of a desiccant dehumidification-based Maisotsenko cycle evaporative cooling (M-DAC) system for greenhouse air-conditioning application. Conventional cooling techniques include direct evaporative cooling, refrigeration systems, and passive/active ventilation. which are commonly used in Pakistan; however, they are either not feasible due to their energy cost, or they cannot efficiently provide an optimum microclimate depending on the regions, the growing seasons, and the crop being cultivated. The M-DAC system was therefore proposed and evaluated as an alternative solution for air conditioning to achieve optimum levels of vapor pressure deficit (VPD) for greenhouse crop production. The objective of this study was to investigate the thermodynamic performance of the proposed system from the viewpoints of the temperature gradient, relative humidity level, VPD, and dehumidification gradient. Results showed that the standalone desiccant air-conditioning (DAC) system created maximum dehumidification gradient (i.e., 16.8 g/kg) and maximum temperature gradient (i.e., 8.4 °C) at 24.3 g/kg and 38.6 °C ambient air conditions, respectively. The DAC coupled with a heat exchanger (DAC+HX) created a temperature gradient nearly equal to ambient air conditions, which is not in the optimal range for greenhouse growing conditions. Analysis of the M-DAC system showed that a maximum air temperature gradient, i.e., 21.9 °C at 39.2 °C ambient air condition, can be achieved, and is considered optimal for most greenhouse crops. Results were validated with two microclimate models (OptDeg and Cft) by taking into account the optimality of VPD at different growth stages of tomato plants. This study suggests that the M-DAC system is a feasible method to be considered as an efficient solution for greenhouse air-conditioning under the climate conditions of Multan (Pakistan)

Potential Investigation of Membrane Energy Recovery Ventilators for the Management of Building Air-Conditioning Loads

The present study provides insights into the energy-saving potential of a membrane energy recovery ventilator (ERV) for the management of building air-conditioning loads. This study explores direct (DEC), Maisotsenko cycle (MEC) evaporative cooling, and vapor compression (VAC) systems with ERV. Therefore, this study aims to explore possible air-conditioning options in terms of temperature, relative humidity, human thermal comfort, wet bulb effectiveness, energy saving potential, and CO2 emissions. Eight different combinations of the above-mentioned systems are proposed in this study i.e., DEC, MEC, VAC, MEC-VAC, and their possible combinations with and without ERVs. A building was modeled in DesignBuilder and simulated in EnergyPlus. The MEC-VAC system with ERV achieved the highest temperature gradient, wet bulb effectiveness, energy-saving potential, optimum relative humidity, and relatively lower CO2 emissions i.e., 19.7 °C, 2.2, 49%, 48%, and 499.2 kgCO2/kWh, respectively. Thus, this study concludes the hybrid MEC-VAC system with ERV the optimum system for the management of building air-conditioning loads

Agrovoltaic and Smart Irrigation: Pakistan Perspective

The present study aims to investigate the prospects and challenges that need to be encountered for the adaptation of the novel agrovoltaic irrigation system (AVIS) in Pakistan. The agro-production scenario in Pakistan is periodically declining and leading toward the high delta crops, which develop severe pressure on the conventional energy and water resources. Groundwater might be a viable water source, but its pumping requires massive energy. In addition, excessive pumping declines the water table at a higher pace as compared to the recharge rate hence leading the country toward the exploitation of the valuable reservoir. The AVIS could be an energy-efficient and reliable irrigation solution in a manner of harvesting solar energy for driving smart irrigation systems capable to pumps the metered groundwater according to field requirements. Lack of local understanding, skilled/technical personnel, dependence on local technology, and major capital expenditures might impede technological adaption. The government should take necessary measures to replenish the groundwater reservoirs and also execute research projects that strengthen ground knowledge of AVIS

Adaptive Filtering on GPS-Aided MEMS-IMU for Optimal Estimation of Ground Vehicle Trajectory

Fusion of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Inertial Navigation System (INS) for navigation of ground vehicles is an extensively researched topic for military and civilian applications. Micro-electro-mechanical-systems-based inertial measurement units (MEMS-IMU) are being widely used in numerous commercial applications due to their low cost; however, they are characterized by relatively poor accuracy when compared with more expensive counterparts. With a sudden boom in research and development of autonomous navigation technology for consumer vehicles, the need to enhance estimation accuracy and reliability has become critical, while aiming to deliver a cost-effective solution. Optimal fusion of commercially available, low-cost MEMS-IMU and the GPS may provide one such solution. Different variants of the Kalman filter have been proposed and implemented for integration of the GPS and the INS. This paper proposes a framework for the fusion of adaptive Kalman filters, based on Sage-Husa and strong tracking filtering algorithms, implemented on MEMS-IMU and the GPS for the case of a ground vehicle. The error models of the inertial sensors have also been implemented to achieve reliable and accurate estimations. Simulations have been carried out on actual navigation data from a test vehicle. Measurements were obtained using commercially available GPS receiver and MEMS-IMU. The solution was shown to enhance navigation accuracy when compared to conventional Kalman filter

On the Critical Heat Flux Assessment of Micro- and Nanoscale Roughened Surfaces

The boiling crisis or critical heat flux (CHF) is a very critical constraint for any heat-flux-controlled boiling system. The existing methods (physical models and empirical correlations) offer a specific interpretation of the boiling phenomenon, as many of these correlations are considerably influenced by operational variables and surface morphologies. A generalized correlation is virtually unavailable. In this study, more physical mechanisms are incorporated to assess CHF of surfaces with micro- and nano-scale roughness subject to a wide range of operating conditions and working fluids. The CHF data is also correlated by using the Pearson, Kendal, and Spearman correlations to evaluate the association of various surface morphological features and thermophysical properties of the working fluid. Feature engineering is performed to better correlate the inputs with the desired output parameter. The random forest optimization (RF) is used to provide the optimal hyper-parameters to the proposed interpretable correlation and experimental data. Unlike the existing methods, the proposed method is able to incorporate more physical mechanisms and relevant parametric influences, thereby offering a more generalized and accurate prediction of CHF (R2 = 0.971, mean squared error = 0.0541, and mean absolute error = 0.185)

Recent Developments in Optical and Thermal Performance of Direct Absorption Solar Collectors

Solar energy is the most promising green energy resource, as there is an enormous supply of solar power. It is considered a good potential solution for energy crises in both domestic and industrial sectors. Nowadays, many types of solar systems are used for harvesting solar energy. Most of the research is focused on direct absorption solar collectors (DASCs) due to their ability to capture more solar energy. The effectiveness of DASCs is dependent on various factors, such as working fluid properties, geometry, and operating parameters. This review summarizes the impact of different design and operating parameters on the performance of DASCs. Many effective parameters are considered and their impact on optical and thermal properties is summarized. The influence of working fluid parameters, such as base fluid type, nanoparticle type, nanoparticle size, nanoparticle shape, and nanoparticle concentration on heat transfer performance, was discussed and their optimum range was suggested. The effects of collector dimensions and many novel design configurations were discussed. The effect of the most important operating parameters, such as temperature, flow rate, flow regime, and irradiance on collector performance, was briefly summarized